The present invention relates to a curtain airbag device provided with a curtain airbag that is capable of being deployed along an inner side surface of a vehicle cabin.
In a vehicle provided with a curtain airbag device, when the vehicle is involved in, for example, a side-on collision or rollover, a curtain airbag is deployed downward along an inner side surface (for example, doors and pillars) of the vehicle cabin so as to protect the head of each vehicle occupant and to keep each vehicle occupant inside the vehicle cabin.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,938 (incorporated by reference herein in its entirety) discloses an example in which a guide element is disposed along a C pillar. Specifically, such a guide element is for guiding a rear portion of a curtain airbag, which is inflatable along the inner side of a vehicle cabin, downward along the pillar.
Moreover, such conventional guide elements each include a track member having a box-shaped cross-section and a slider element that is disposed within the track member and is movable in the longitudinal direction of the track member. The rear portion of a curtain airbag is fixed to the slider element. In order to prevent the rear portion of each curtain airbag from being retracted upward after being moved downward, latches are disposed at a regular interval along the track member.
The top and bottom ends of a track member are provided with mounted flanges, and each of the flanges is fixed to the corresponding C pillar with a bolt or a screw.